Combined brooder and incubator.



0. Von CULIN.

COMBINED BROODER AND INCUBATORQ APPLl CATl0N FILED MAR. 22. 1915.

1 1 87,207 Patented June 13, 1916. 2 $HEET5-$HEET l- E Ea-J... z z M] G. VON CULIN. COMBINED BROODER AND INCUBATOR. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 22, 1915.

1 187 207. Patented June 13, 1916. v z SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Ea -mi.

I l I W 48 76 fi CLAYTON VON CULIN, OF NEW'YORK, Y., ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T0 WATSON BEACH, 015 SAYBBOOK, CONNECTICUT.

GEORGE COMBINED BROODEH AND INCUBATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented 11113 13 1916,

7 Application filed March 22, 1915. Serial No. 16,203.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, CLAYTON VoN CULIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the'county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Combined Brooders and Incubators; and I do declare the following to be a,full,'clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates broadly to improvements in poultry culture and more particularly to a combined brooder and incubator.

The object of the invention is to provide a device of this class which although being very simple in construction and inexpensive, will be highly efficient in operation and will possess a number of very desirable and advantageous features.

With this general object in view, the invention resides in certain novel features of construction and combination of parts hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In describing the invention, I shall refer to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the various views and wherein F igure' 1 is a side elevation of a device constructed in accordance with my invention showing its application ,to use as an incubator; F ig, 2 is a vertical section with the parts so disposed; Fig- 3 is'an additional verticaLsectio-n showing the disposition of parts when used as a ,brooder; and Fig. {L is a horizontalsection as seen-along the plane indicated by the line 4% of Fig. 1.

In these drawings, constituting a part of the application, 1 designates the upper section of the incubator shell, this section being here shown of cylindrical formation and as comprising a top 2 from which-a surrounding wall 3 depends. The top2 is covered by a circular plate or the like 4 which is spaced therefrom and which is of greater diameter than said top, an additional wall 5 being secured to the outer edge of: said plate 4 at its upper edge. "This wall 5 thus surrounds and is spaced from the wall 3 whereby to provide a dead air or vacuum jacketsurrounding the upper section 1, said jacket being completed bya horizontally incubator. quickly and easily removed when desired' disposed ring 6 which is secured to the lower ends'of the walls 3 and 5, thereby hermetically sealing the same. I

The section 1 constructed as above described in any preferred shape, is provided W1th a plurality of sockets 7 in which the upper ends .of a plurality of removable legs 8 may be inserted when desired, these legs however, being only used when the device is employedfor incubating purposes in the manner to'be hereinafter set forth.

' Disposed beneath the section 1 is a lower cylindrical section 9 which may or may not be provided with a bottom, the latter being omitted in the present application. At its.

whereby when the upper section 1 is supported upon its legs 8, the lower section 9 will be suspended at a point above the fioor level.

'In addition to the parts so far described, the upper edge portion of the lower section 9 isprovided with an internal flange or the like 14: upon which a removable egg tray 15 is disposed when the device is used as an Such tray, however, may be For the purpose of heating the interior of theshell, whether it be employed as a breeder or as an incubator, any preferred means may be provided. In the present em-, .bodiment, a heatlng drum 16 18 shown as disposed within the upper end of the section land as provided with a jacket wall 17; which is spaced outwardlyfrom its circular wall'and which is secured at its upper end to a circular plate or the like 18 disposed in contact with the top 2 of the upper [shell section,'.the bottom 19 of the drum 16 being of such diameter as to close the lower end thereof and project'therefrom to an eX- i tent great enough to be secured to the wall 17 By this construction, a dead air or vacuum jacket is provided around the greater portion of the drum 16, its bottom, however, being uninsulated in order that heat may be morereadily transferred therefrom to the portion of the shell disposed beneath the same.

In the present embodiment of the invention, a lamp 20 is shown for supplying hot air to the drum 16 and a draft tube 21 leads upwardly from said drum to the open air. It 'will be evident, however, that other means might be provided for heating the air within the drum 16, and in fact, that hot water or electric means could be substituted for said drum, such features being rather unessential details of construction.

As is common with devices of this class, any appropriate type of thermal regulator 22 is provided, whereby to maintain the interior of the device at an even temperature. When using the device as an incubator, the legs 8 are inserted into the sockets 7 there by spacing the upper shell section 1 above the floor level. The lower section 9 is now removed and the egg tray 15 is disposed therein. After now filling said tray with the eggs, and raising the temperature within the shell to the necessary amount, the section 9 is again disposed beneath the section 1 and the spring fasteners 13 are disposed to active position, thereby suspending the lower section 9 from the section 1 at a level spaced above the floor. It will be observed that the openings 10 serve as means for allowing the section 9 to be readily lifted from a table or the like after the tray 15 has been filled with eggs, since the fingers of the operator may be inserted through such notches. Without the provision of the latter, it would be necessary to provide some other type of handle for raising the section 9. It will therefore be seen that the construction of the device is simplified by so locating the notches in question as to allow them to act as handles when the device is used as an incubator, and as doorways when used as a brooder. It is to be observed that when turning of the eggs is necessary, or when access must be had into the interior of the device for other reasons, the entire section 9 may either be removed or one side thereof may be swung'downwardly by releasing certain of the fasteners 13.

WVhen the eggs have hatched and the device is to be used as a brooder, the egg tray 15 and the legs 8 are removed, thus allowing the lower section 9 to rest upon the floor of the incubator house or upon the ground as the case may be. It will thus be seen that the newly hatched chicks may leave and enter the section 9 of the machine at will. Needless to say, however, ap propriate closures will be provided for the openings 10 in case it is desirable to prevent the chicks from leaving the brooder.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be evident that although comparatively simple construction has been provided for carrying out the object of the invention, the combined incubator and brooder will be very efficient in operation and will possess a number of highly advantageous features. The most salient of these features are set forth in the following which I claim as my invention.

I claim 1. A device of the class described comprising an upper shell section closed at its upper and open at its lower end, detachable legs for supporting said section in an elevated position, heating means in said section, a lower shell section open at both its upper and lower ends and contacting snugly with the lower end of the upper section, said lower section having in its lower edge a notch, means in the lower section for removably supporting an egg tray, and releasable fasteners disposed at spaced points for securing the two sections together.

2. A device of the class described comprising an upper shell section closed at its upper and open at its lower end, detachable legs for supporting said section in an elevated position, heating means in said section, a lower shell section open at both its upper and lower ends and having at its upper edge a right angular continuous flange extending inwardly and upwardly from said edge, the upright portion of said flange being snugly received in the lower end of the upper shell section while thehorizontal portion of such flange contacts with said lower end, an additional flange extending inwardly from the other flange and adapted to removably support an egg tray, and fasteners disposed at spaced points for reinovably securing the lower section to the upper section, said lower section having in its lower edge a notch for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CLAYTON VON CULIN. Witnesses:

W. E. JAMES, FREDERICK B. BLACKMAN.

topics oi this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Eatents.

Washington, D. t2." 7 

